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Social Customs
The 1stGBE is a very old and complex society and thus has many varied and often confusing customs. Compiled in this place is a list of do's and dont's when conducting yourself in common society in the 1stGBE. Do's *Congratulate people on their beards. Not doing so is considered to imply that their beard is not substantial enough for your notice, having the combined effect of making yourself look exceptionally big headed and insulting the person you are addressing. *Craft your beard into various forms for each day of the week. Not doing so is considered to indicate that you have insufficient care for your beard. Braids, beads and bells are highly recommended. *Occasionally stroke your beard. This makes people feel more comfortable around you. *Apologise if you accidentally touch another man's beard whilst uninvited to do so. If you are invited then it is perfectly acceptable to go as far as to rub your beards together, however this is considered a great sign of trust so stay aware. *Apply a napkin to your beard when eating greasy food, not doing so can greatly perturb members of the public. Don'ts *Shave a man's beard under any circumstance. Just Don't, seriously. *Touching a man's beard uninvited is EXCEPTIONALLY RUDE. *Be in possession of a razor. If you are caught in possession of one, you may suffer consequences as severe as public shaving. (see below) *Stare for an extended period of time at an inquisitor or they may [RETRACTED BY THE INQUISITION]. *Grab someone by the beard. An incident like this occurred during a mining accident and the perpetrator was never caught. Eccentric Customs From Eccentric Planets *On the planet of Zagreb owned by House Granunnzaigen, It is considered very rude to wear tight fitting clothing. *Women of the planet Zagreb may choose to tie a knot in their beard for every year that they have lived, as to prevent men from inappropriately asking the woman's age, and thus they can resort to counting the knots. This practice is welcome, and prevents the awkward stigma caused by the question that many a women had to hear before this marvelous change was implemented, "How old are you?". *Men from the World Zuthien owned by House Beats, have the distinct custom that while serving in the Galactic Beard Imperial Legions: they refuse to cut their hair during military service. When brother of the Legion returns home and is noted for his distinction in combat, the High Lord will throw a ceremony in his honour and put a leather band in the brother's hair as well as one in is beard. The brother can only remove it to apply fresh butter and apply proper beard/hair maitenance but must put it back on after. If the brother is called again to bear his arms for the Empire he will then have the leather band removed from his hair only and his hair be freshly cut as to keep with the honour and tradition, his beard however should remain in a leather band. Multiple leather bands may be added to his beard if he is again honoured with distinction in combat by the High Lord. *On Gratian, the home world of House Grafton, it is accustomed that each child, upon reaching the age of 10, is given a razor. If the child refuses to accept the razor, they are given the honor of choosing to add the title of 'The True-Beard'. If the child accepts the razor, but soon disposes of it, no further action is taken. If the child conceals the razor, but does not dispose of it, they are placed on a planetary watch list, which is run by the Inquisition to identify potential heresy. If the child however, makes attempt to use the razor, they are sentenced to death on order of the Inquisition, and are imprisoned until the age of 30. After being imprisoned for 20 years with no access to grooming devices, the heretic will poses a large, scraggly beard. At this point, 'Trial by Beard-Ripping' (see below) is passed. Punishments *The highest form of punishment in the 1stGBE is to have your beard forcefully removed en-masse. Originating from Gratian, the home world of House Grafton, this practice is referred to as "Beard Ripping". The process involves the punished placing their head in a block similar to that of a chopping block and attaching each hair on their face to a large weight, the weight is then pushed from the platform into a 20 foot hole. The consequences of this usually result in the entire bottom section of their face being ripped off, jaw included. There is one clause to this punishment, being that if the punished survives the ordeal with their beard intact, they are absolved of all crimes, however this has not happened in the history of the 1stGBE. *Public shaving is the practice of shaving a punished man's face with an officer's broadsword. These kinds of punishments are much more common than Beard Rippings however there have been a few cases of people choosing the block instead of undergoing the punishment. *Flaying is a practice only used by the inquisition. It is often done with an inquisitors broadsword, and takes 5 hours to complete. It has often been remarked that High Priest Grafton enjoys this process, and has been reported to occasionally leave a man half flayed, before bathing them in salt, and then continuing. however, the inquisition denies any sense of enjoyment in 'flaying a fallen brother' *Execution is usually performed by beheading or by the gallows, however some planets have more varied forms of execution that are often more personalised to the planets customs. Variations of Punishment * In some cases or Beard Ripping, it has been known for the trial to be personally overseen by High Priest Grafton. In these circumstances, he will often set up a public trial, in which the weight is on a conveyor system, attached to a weigted pulley. Members of the public are invited to hear his crime, and are given a stone. They may then choose to place the stone on in a container, which in turn moves the weight closer to the pit. However, it has sometimes been known that the High Priest will pretend that the accused has passed a public trial, before sitting on the container, causing the weight to drop, and the beard be ripped. * On some worlds, there is no such punishment as beard ripping or public shavings, as they believe it to be heretical to remove a beard, regardless of who it belongs to. Instead, they often put accused into stocks for 24 hours, and invite members of the public to violently pull the accused's beard, before putting them to death by beheading or gallows. * In the wastelands, it has been known for an accused's beard to be soaked in meat juices, and suspended over a pit of beasts, who proceed to bite at the beard. This is a variant of beard ripping, and usually results in the same affects. There has only been one survivor of this variant, however, the survivor was invited to Gratian, by High Priest Grafton, who then proceeded to take a broadsword, and flay him for his heresy.